The National Security Space Strategy — Implications for the Department of Defense

Before a packed house at CSIS on February 16, CSIS president and CEO John J. Hamre moderated a discussion with Deputy Secretary of Defense William J. Lynn, USAF Secretary Michael B. Donley, and vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General James E. Cartwright about the new U.S. National Security Space Strategy. The strategy recognizes the important role space plays in both national security and commercial activity. It positions the United States to help establish global norms for operating in space, strengthens deterrence through increased surveillance capacity, and shares the financial burden of establishing the space infrastructure.

Secretary Lynn acknowledged that the current peer-to-peer export regime, designed during the Cold War, prevents technical sharing between allies. Instead we should put higher walls around fewer items. General Cartwright stressed the need to establish operating norms for space to avoid costly accidents and identify potential threats in a matter of minutes, not days. Secretary Donley, who will lead the new Defense Space Council, described a “to do” list of more than 30 issues that, once resolved, will improve current space architectures, build partnerships, shore up the space industrial base, and improve coordination across DOD programs.